Apparatus capable of use in the removal of dents within areas of a workpiece such as the sheet metal of fenders, doors or other surfaces of an automotive vehicle which typically are not openly accessible for working are known in the prior art.
Typically, the prior art apparatus is formed by structure capable of application of the same working action to the area of a dent in a workpiece as has been provided by a hammer and hammering action when the area of the dent is accessible. To this end, the prior art apparatus is formed by a tool having an elongated shank carrying a screw such as a machine screw at one end and having a member movable along the shank between spaced stops near the screw and a handle end. The member preferably is weighted and spring loaded or otherwise may be accelerated from one stop to the other. The force of impact of the weighted member striking a stop has the effect of either incrementally depressing inwardly or pulling outwardly the area of the workpiece to which the tool is attached.
Tools of this type suffer from disadvantages, among possible other disadvantages, that the dent is removed through impact and, unless the worker is extremely skilled, the single or several impacts may result in movement of the dented or a portion of the dented area of the workpiece through and beyond the plane of the undented surface. Such action requires that the previously worked area be worked in the other direction, resulting possibly in a rupture of the sheet metal, particularly if the damage thereto was severe. Further, the impact action permits only a small area of the dent to be worked, increasing the amount of time and labor expended in the operation. Further still, repeated impact to the metal within the area of the dent may result in a buckling of surrounding areas, particularly within large flat sheet metal surfaces such as the top, hood, and trunk lid of the automotive vehicle.